warriorsfanficfandomcom-20200213-history
Breaking Everything
This is a story written by Gingerear for Dawny's contest Chapter 1 Jayfeather stood in front of the blind, hairless cat, unflinching. "Cats don't always get what they want. Sometimes, we need to make sacrifices for the sake of everyone else. It is part of our destiny," Rock meowed. "Is it my destiny to lose everything I ever wanted!" Jayfeather screeched in fury. "I never had anything that I wanted! I didn't want to go blind! I didn't want to be a medicine cat! I didn't want to be part of the prophecy! I didn't want to be the son of Leafpool and Crowfeather! I didn't want to lose my sister! I didn't want any of this!" "It is your destiny, wether you like or not!" Rock snapped. "And you will do as I say!" "Never!" Jayfeather caterwauled. Rock lunged on top of the Jayfeather, pinning the scrawny gray tabby to the snowy ground. "Half Moon! Dove's Wing! Fish Leap! Stone Song! Furled Bracken! Jagged Lightning! HELP!" Rock had not been expecting that. Even though he could not see, he could tell that the six cats were rushing back to see what their tribemate was yelling about. Dung, Rock thought. He could easily defeat all seven cats if he really wanted to, but he did not want to reveal himself to the rest of the Ancients, because if he did, he could upset the flow of destiny, and that could prove disastrous. "Don't think this is over," the nearly-hairless tom hissed into Jayfeather's ear. Then he bolted away. Chapter 2 As soon as Half Moon heard Jay's Wing scream her name, she was running.'' Oh no,'' the white she-cat thought. Please, Jay's Wing, please be okay. She spotted the familiar striped pelt splayed out on the snowy ground. "Jay's Wing?" she called. The dazed gray tabby tom lifted his head. "Half Moon?" he called back as she finally got next to him. "I'm right here," she replied. Then she saw the fresh puncture marks in his side. "What happened? Did another eagle try to carry you away?" "If another eagle tried to carry him away, then he wouldn't be on the ground," Fish Leap snapped. "He would be gone." Half Moon spun around. She had been so focused on making sure that Jay's Wing was okay that she hadn't noticed that Fish Leap, Stone Song, and Dove's Wing had followed her. "What happend?" Stone Song demanded. "... I don't know," Jay's Wing replied blearily. "Something pounced on me and then left." Half Moon and the other cats stared at him. They could tell that he was lying; it was obvious. But Half Moon did not want to leave those wounds untreated for too long, so she meowed, "Let's take him back to the cave and deal with it later," she suggested. Then she noticed something amiss. "Where is Jagged Lightning and Furled Bracken?" the white cat asked. "Guarding our eagle," Fish Leap snapped. "If you hadn't just ran off, then you would have known that." Half Moon reflexively snarled. Fish Leap bristled in shock. "Let's go back to the cave," Stone Song cut in, and then the dark gray tabby started walking away. Fish Leap glared at Half Moon and Jay's Wing and followed his leader. "I think he's just jealous," Dove's Wing meowed as she followed Fish Leap and Stone Song. Chapter 3 Jayfeather sat behind a pool in what the nonexistent Tribe of Rushing Water called the Cave of Pointed Stones. He could hear the waterfall flowing, and he could see the clouds extending themselves across the star-speckled sky. It was a peaceful night, but Jayfeather was not at peace. Stone Song had told the Ancients everything that had happened, and most of them now eyed Jayfeather suspiciosuly. The gray tabby did not want to lie to them, but he knew they would not believe the truth. He sighed. Why can't I just live a normal life? the tabby wondered. His blue eyes stared into the crystal-clear pool in front of him. It reflected the sky, showing some tiny slivers of the moon peeking out from behind a wispy cloud. Jayfeather scratched the pool's surface in frustration. It's because of some stupid reflection in a pool that Rock wants to separate Half Moon from me, he thought. He knew that was not the case, but he needed something to blame, and the pool was closest to him. Perhaps I am just being selfish, the tom thought. But the other part of him would not back down. Losing Half Moom would hurt him the most - his heart knew that. And it would hurt him because he knew it would hurt her to lose him again. I will not let that happen, he vowed. Let Rock do what he will. I will stay by Half Moon's side. As if Jayfeather's thought had summoned her, Half Moon appeared. The tom could sense her concern. "There you are," she meowed. He turned his head to look at her. "Half Moon," he murmured tenderly. "I wanted to talk to you," the white she-cat meowed as she padded over to stand next to him. "About what happened today." Her pool-deep eyes were dark with seriousness. The gray tom sighed and reflexively turned his head back too the pool. "You wouldn't believe me." "Yes, I would," Half Moon snapped. "No, you wouldn't," he countered. "Let's see," she meowed. Jayfeather realized he could not avoid it any longer. So he told her about everything: the Clans, how he went blind, the Prophecy, Fallen Leaves and Rock, the discovery that he was half-Clan, the death of Hollyleaf, the discovery that Dovewing was the third cat, finding out that the Dark Forest planned to strike the Clans. He took until the first light of dawn struck the sky to finish the story. Half Moon remained respectfully silent the whole time, hanging on the edge of every word. She remained silent some time after her love finished speaking. Then she meowed, "So your name is actually Jayfeather?" "It's complicated, but to put it simply, yes," Jayfeather replied. "And you're part of this group of cats destined to save these Clans in the future?" she asked. "Yes," Jayfeather meowed. "And I'm supposed to be this mystical Stoneteller who leads this Tribe of cats in these mountains?" the white cat queried. "Yes," Jayfeather confirmed. Both cats stayed quiet for a while longer, staring out into the distance together, watching the sunrise, their minds buzzing with thoughts. "Well, if you need to go, don't let me stop you," Half Moon meowed, butting her head against Jayfeather's shoulder affectionately. For a moment, Jayfeather thought she was joking. But he could tell that she was being honest. And he could feel her pain. "Are you sure?" he asked. "Positive," she meowed. "Good. Now let's go," Rock ordered. The ugly tom stood in the center of the cavern, his head pointed towards Jayfeather. "You've been here long enough already." Jayfeather looked at the cat he loved. She was still determined. And since Half Moon wanted him to go, he would go. So the gray tom let the extremely ancient cat guide him away. Chapter 4 Dovewing stared out into the distance, contemplating the events that had taken place during her stay at the Tribe of Rushing Water. Swoop of Chestnut Hawk had been carried away by an eagle, Jayfeather had gotten himself lost in some tunnels for about a day, and the Stoneteller had died. The Tribe was in complete dissaray. Crag Where Eagles Nest, the leader of the cave-guards, and Gray Sky Before Dawn, the leader of the prey-hunters, had taken control of the Tribe, and were trying to keep the distressed cats together. Squirrelflight had even gone so far as to offer a place for Stormfur, Brook, and their kits a place in ThunderClan. To add to all that, Jayfeather had grown increasingly distant. He seemed to always be distracted, and he would not talk to anyone. When Squirrelflight tried to approach him earlier that day, he attempted to scratch her ear. I hope he's not going nuts, Dovewing thought. If he loses his mind now, the Clans are doomed. Then the pale gray she-cat noticed something else. A familiar-looking shape in the snow, though Dovewing knew that she did not know this cat. The rogues were attacking her. Dovewing had to act fast. "Squirrelflight! Foxleap!" Dovewing yowled as she charged down the mountainside. Her Clanmates followed her, uncertain of what was going on, but they figured that they should help the young gray warrior before she got herself in trouble. Chapter 5 As soon as Half Moon entered the gigantic cave, the badly injured white she-cat collapsed onto the floor. Jayfeather dashed to her side, immediately starting to chew up and plaster herbs onto her wounds. Squirrelflight, Dovewing, and Foxleap went over to tell Crag and Gray to tell them what happened, leaving Jayfeather and Half Moon more or less alone. "What are you doing here?" Jayfeather hissed. "How did you get here?" "I followed you through the tunnels," Half Moon whispered. "I couldn't just let you leave - you've already had to go through so much by yourself. I want to be with you – I want to help you." The blind tabby honestly did not know how to respond to that. Then Crag walked over to them and meowed, "Who are you?" "My name is Moon," Half Moon croaked. "I don't really live with anyone else. My mother and my younger siblings died in labor, and my father went mad and died of grief. I've lived on my own for so long - I have nowhere else to go." "What were you fighting the rogues for?" the dark gray tom asked. "They attacked me," the white she-cat explained. Crag could tell she was very tired, so he decided to not press her any further. "Sick and injured cats sleep in the Cave of Pointed Stones," he informed Jayfeather. Half Moon, deciding that she could probably rest, promptly fell asleep. Chapter 6 Claws prodded Jayfeather's flank. "Get up!" Rock snapped. Jayfeather lifted his head groggily and opened his eyes. He saw the snarling hairless tom standing beside him. They were in the Cave of Pointed Stones - Jayfeather chose to stay with Half Moon in there. "I'm dreaming, aren't I?" Jayfeather meowed. "No," Rock snapped. "What's going on?" Half Moon mumbled. A thunderous rumble drowned out her words. "You need to go back," Rock replied. "Your arrival here has upset the balance of the world, Half Moon. Everything will be destroyed if you don't come back." "You're just trying to separate us again!" Jayfeather yowled as he sprang to his feet. The gray tabby's body tensed, his fur bristled, his lips curled backwards in a snarl. There was another loud rumble. Jayfeather spun around. His jaws dropped in shock at the horrific sight. The world was literally collapsing. All three cats could see the gaping void of blackness beyond what was left of the solid ground. They could hear the screams of the terrified creatures. "I'm not," Rock meowed. "I'll go," Half Moon meowed desicively. She began plodding over to the tunnel. Jayfeather watched the beautiful white cat walk away, with Rock following her. The medicine cat of ThunderClan knew that the right thing to do was to let her go, but she was the one cat he cared about the most. His heart was tearing in two - one half pulling him towards the love of his life, the other freezing him to the spot. The gray tabby couldn't take any more pain. He let out a ferocious, primal caterwaul as he launched himself towards Rock. The ancient tom turned around and lifted up one of his forepaws to parry the attack - and accidently sliced Jayfeather's throat. The last thing Jayfeather knew was Half Moon's squeal of agony. Half Moon and Rock stared at the corpse in horror. The white she-cat could not believe it - her love was dead, gone, broken on the floor and bleeding. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" she wailed. A few moments after her wail finished echoing through the cavern, the grief in her heart turned to rage as her deep green eyes focused on Rock. She crouched down, ready to take vegence. Rock spotted her a moment before she sprang. "I can still fix this!" he yowled. Half Moon kept up her stance, but Rock's words stalled her attack. "If you go back," the tom went on, "I can reverse time, and influence Jayfeather to make the right decision. Then the world will be put back in balance, and both of you will survive." The white she-cat could not ignore the logic of Rock's statement. She stood up straight. "Survive," she murmured, "but not live. But I will do this - not for your sake, but for his." With those words, she and Rock raced into the tunnel. A thunderous rumble followed their exit, nearly breaking everything. Half Moon watched as Jayfeather dissappeared through the tunnel for the last time. She had had to relive the last couple days of her life, but she still remembered the other path, even if Jayfeather did not. Rock left her her memories to ensure that she made the right decision. Farewell, she thought after he left. I will always remember the few days we had together.